“Israel is called “Adam””

by HaRav Dov Begon
Rosh HaYeshiva, Machon Meir

At the conclusion of the Six Days of Creation the spiritual purpose of Creation was revealed: “G-d saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). Indeed the purpose of Creation is the revelation of G-d’s beneficent will, as our sages said, “Whatever G-d does is for the good.” It is a fact that G-d created everything and He is the Master of all, and we must praise Him, as we say in Aleinu at the end of each service, “We must praise the Master of all.”

Discovering G-d’s beneficent will is man’s duty, as is hinted at by the words “it was very good”, in which very [me’od] has the same Hebrew letters as “adam” [man]. The purpose of creation is the fashioning of a good man through whom G-d’s beneficent will can be revealed, and in our lives and our world, the way to discover goodness is by learning and fulfilling the Torah, of which it says, “There is no good but Torah”. “I give you a good doctrine. Forsake not My Torah” (Proverbs 4:2). And who is the “man” [Hebrew “adam”] about whom the Torah is speaking? It is the Jewish People, as our sages taught, “You, Israel, are called ‘Adam’.”

The Jewish People today are the nation G-d chose from amongst all others, giving them His Torah: “The inner essence of the soul of Israel is their inherent proclivity for showing goodness to all, without any restrictions whatsoever, either in the number of beneficiaries or the amount of goodness bestowed. This is their ancestral inheritance. This positive proclivity has to be steeped in great wisdom and enormous fortitude in order for them to know how to reap its full potential in all its forms.” (Orot 139)

How fortunate our lot that we are called “Adam”, through whom is revealed the divine goodness in the world, for everlasting life G-d implanted in our midst.

Looking forward to complete salvation,
Shabbat Shalom.